CCS boys track looking to maintain excellence

Following up a season that ends with a state championship can be tough, but the Chase County boys track team has plenty of depth and leadership on hand as it looks to repeat its successes of last year.
Head Coach Carl Zuege said the team is off to a really good start. Mild weather to start off practices has helped athletes be excited to get back to work.
The roster features 57 athletes, the most in Zuege’s tenure. CCS brings a strong mix of upperclassmen talent as well as a group of freshmen that have Zuege excited.
Zuege said this could be one of the most well-rounded teams CCS has had in quite a few years.
Hurdles was an obvious event for Zuege to highlight as a team strength.
The Longhorns return state qualifiers Jensen Olsen and Easton Fries. At state, Fries placed second and Olsen was fifth in the 110-high hurdles. Fries also won the 300-meter hurdles, anchored the winning 1,600-meter relay and was second in the 400-meter dash.
“We are also very excited about Tyler O’Neil and several of our young hurdlers,” Zuege said.
Relays should also be a strong suit for CCS with three legs of all three relays returning this season.
“In the 4x800 relay we return Zach Herbert, Tristan Jablonski and Luis Co from our fourth place team last season. In the 4x100 we return Jonathan Sosa, Tucker Mollendor and Thomas Reeves from the team that finished third at state, and finally we return Sosa, Jablonski and Fries from our state champion 4x400 team,” Zuege said.
Field events also look stacked.
Zuege said throwing events are the deepest they’ve been in his coaching career.
“We have some excellent seniors in Jaret Peterson, Cooper Dillan, Jesus Medina and Ray Murillo. Unfortunately, senior Zane Mays will be out after having ACL surgery, but Zane will continue to be a valuable leader in our program,” Zuege said, adding that CCS also has some really nice young throwers who will challenge those seniors.
Sprints and jumps will also be core components of the Longhorns’ team.
“In the 100 and 200 we will be led by junior Thomas Reeves, who qualified for state in both races last year, placing sixth in the 200. Senior Jason Nelson also returns to help lead this group,” Zuege said.
Moving onto the jumps, CCS returns Kole Clevenger and  Mollendor who both qualified in the long jump last year. Also returning is James McArthur, a senior who narrowly missed out on state in the triple jump.
“I have seen great improvement already in the strength and explosiveness of those guys,” Zuege said.
That includes Chase County’s pole vault group, with state champion Mason Wallin returning.
“It should score well for us again this year. Senior Sean Heermann and several others will look to add to our depth and strength in that event,” Zuege said.
Distance athletes are not to be forgotten. Sophomore Haven Hauxwell, who placed ninth at Class C State Cross Country this fall, leads the pack.
“The distance crew will also be much improved this season, as we pretty much have all of those guys back and healthy from last year. Guys like Hauxwell, Brayan Reyes, Trevin Moreno, Navy Smith, Andrew Wiest and senior Kevin Dannatt should continue to provide a great deal of strength and depth in those events,” Zuege continued.
The Longhorns aren’t the only SPVA team to perform well at state recently. CCS will battle 2022 Class D state champion and 2023 third place finisher North Platte St. Pat’s often. Perkins County brings Mason McGreer and Eli Goddell, who finished first and second respectively in Class D State Cross Country, and will be tough every meet.
“I think at every event we should have great competition which will push us to improve meet after meet, which is how we build a competitive team when the district and state meets roll around in May,” Zuege said.
Zuege went on to say he can   honestly see three of the top five teams at the Class C state track meet this season coming from the SPVA.
“Bridgeport has a number of good athletes, and some of the teams outside the SPVA like Gordon-Rushville and Mitchell should continue to provide tough competition.,” he added.
With big expectations for the two months of competition ahead, Zuege said the thing everyone must realize is that other than some valuable experience, last season has nothing to do with this one.
“We have already discussed as a team that success really has about a one-day life cycle, then you have to get up, put in the work, and do it all again. We had a lot of things break right for us at the state meet last year, so we have to realize that we must be even better—significantly better, if we want a chance to duplicate last year’s results.
Chase County’s first action of the season will be Friday at the Perkins County Pre-Season Meet. Also in Grant will be Potter-Dix, Wallace and Wauneta-Palisade.